ECHL ECHL

Nailers Win Four In A Row, Lead Northern Division, ECHL

Published on January 5, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


Going 4-0-0 last week and 7-0-1 in its last eight games, Wheeling remains atop the Northern Division and leads the ECHL with 48 points and a 23-9-2 record.

The Nailers will host Reading on Friday and Sunday and will travel to Cincinnati on Saturday. Wheeling has won its last three home games for a 15-4-2 home record, and it has won five consecutive road games to improve to 8-5-0 on the road. The Nailers are 2-0-0 at home and 3-0-0 overall against Reading and 1-1-0 at Cincinnati and 1-1-0 overall against the Cyclones.

Wheeling has scored an ECHL season-high nine goals twice, Wednesday against Toledo and November 9 against Dayton, and had a league season-high 18 assists and 27 points in both games. Wheeling, which ranks second in the league in scoring with 3.76 goals per game, has also tied the league season-high for winning margin with eight goals, winning 9-1 against Dayton on November 9 and 8-0 against Dayton on December 26.

During the four-game streak, the line of Jason Jaffray, J.C. Ruid and Jean-Francois Dufour have combined to score 38 points on 13 goals and 25 assists. Jaffray, who was the 2003 ECHL Rookie of the Year with Roanoke, has scored a goal in each of the four games, including two goals in three straight games, and leads the threesome with seven goals and 14 points. Ruid, who has scored the game-winning goal in back-to-back games, has an assist in four consecutive games and a goal in three straight games for 12 points (4g-8a). Dufour has multiple assists in four consecutive games and he has 10 assists and 12 points in the last four games. Selected to start in the ECHL All-Star Game for the second year in a row, Jaffray is tied for second in the ECHL with 46 points (19g-27a) and is tied for third in the league with 19 goals. Dufour is second on the team and tied for sixth in the ECHL with 41 points (16g-25a) while Ruid ranks third on the team and is tied for 18th in the league with 35 points (13g-22a).

Jake Ortmeyer has a five-game scoring streak in which he has seven assists, and he leads Nailers defensemen with 12 assists and 15 points.

In his first professional season, Nick Boucher is 4-0-0 with a shutout and a 1.50 goals against average during the current streak and is 7-0-1 with two shutouts and a 1.84 goals against average in his last eight games. Selected in the ninth round (280th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2000 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Boucher is 14-3-1 and tied for the ECHL lead with three shutouts and tied for fifth in the league with 14 wins while ranking 14th with a 2.46 goals against average.


Former Sea Wolf Leads NHL Rookie Scoring
Former Mississippi left wing Michael Ryder made his NHL Debut with Montreal on October 9. Ryder, who had his first two-goal game and an assist in Sunday's 4-3 win against Washington, entered the week leading NHL rookies with 17 assists and 26 points in 40 games. The 23-year-old is tied for third among rookies with three power-play goals and ranks fourth with nine goals.

Selected in the eighth round (216th overall) by Monteal in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Ryder scored 14 goals and 27 points in 20 games with Mississippi in 2001-02. The 6-1 and 195-pound Ryder was chosen to represent Mississippi in the 2002 ECHL All-Star Game, but was unable to participate after being called up to Quebec of the American Hockey League.


Steelheads Move Atop Pacific Division
Posting back-to-back home wins over then leader Las Vegas and going 1-1-1 on a road trip to San Diego and Fresno, Idaho moved into first place in the Pacific Division with a 21-11-2 record and 44 points. The Steelheads are one point ahead of Alaska (20-9-3) and Las Vegas (19-9-5) and four points ahead of San Diego (19-8-2).

Idaho continues its current six-game road trip visiting Fresno on Friday, Bakersfield on Saturday and Long Beach on Sunday. The Steelheads are 4-0-1 against Fresno, 5-1-0 against Bakersfield and 2-0-1 against Long Beach.

Defenseman David Cornacchia leads Idaho with six assists and seven points in the last five games while Lance Galbraith and Jan Kopecky each have a team-high three goals during that time. Cornacchia is tied for eighth among ECHL defensemen with 27 points (5g-22a) in 32 games while also appearing in five games with Utah of the American Hockey League. Kopecky leads the Steelheads with 15 goals and 30 points in 34 games. Galbraith, who scored his first hat trick of the season in Idaho's 5-4 overtime loss on Saturday at Fresno, ranks third on the team with 10 goals and ranks fourth in scoring with 18 points in 22 games.

In the past week, Dan Ellis was 2-1-0 with a 2.59 goals against average and Blair Allison was 1-0-1 with a 2.88 goals against average. Allison is 10-3-1 and tied for 15th in the ECHL with a 2.48 goals against average while Ellis is 11-8-1 and ranks 19th in the league with a 2.52 goals against average.


Wildcatters' Parley's 63 Saves One Shy Of Record
Texas rookie goaltender Davis Parley made 63 saves in the Wildcatters 3-2 shootout loss at Pensacola on Friday. The 21-year-old Parley ties Wheeling's Joel Laing for the second most saves ever in an ECHL game, one save shy of the ECHL record of 64 saves held by Baton Rouge's Christian Soucy. Laing made his 63 saves on February 16, 2002 against Peoria while Soucy made his 64 saves on January 18, 1997 against Tallahassee.

Selected in the fourth round (120th overall) by the Florida Panthers in the 2000 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Parley made an ECHL season-high 58 saves in a 6-5 overtime loss at Greensboro on October 23. Florida's Rob Zepp tied Parley with 58 saves in a 4-1 loss at Gwinnett on December 27. Parley, who has made over 40 saves in nine of his 20 games and who ranks fourth in the ECHL with 679 saves, is 7-10-2 with a 3.79 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.


Stingrays Win Five Straight, Move Up In Southern Division
South Carolina went 3-0-0 last week to increase its winning streak to five games and move from fifth place into a tie for fourth place with Greensboro in the Southern Division. The Stingrays (19-11-1) and Generals (19-14-1) each have 39 points, one point behind third place Roanoke (19-13-2) and one point ahead of fifth place Charlotte (17-12-4). Columbia leads the Southern Division with 44 points and a 20-10-4 record while Florida is in second place with 41 points and an 18-11-5 record.

South Carolina, which has won its last five home games to improve to 9-6-0 at home, will host Columbus on Tuesday, Greenville on Friday and Florence on Saturday. The Stingrays, who are 11-2-0 in their last 13 games, won 2-1 in a shootout at Columbus on Friday and are 2-0-0 against the Cottonmouths. South Carolina is 2-0-0 at home and 4-0-0 overall against Greenville and is 1-0-0 at home and 3-0-0 overall against Florence.

In the past five games, Kirk Daubenspeck is 4-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average while David Brumby is 1-0-0 with an 0.92 goals against average. Brumby is 6-5-0 and ranks seventh in the ECHL with a 2.26 goals against average while Daubenspeck is 13-6-1 and ranks 11th in the league with a 2.39 goals against average.

Kevin Spiewak leads the Stingrays in the last five games with six assists and seven points while Curtis Huppe has a team-high four goals, including a game-winning goal. Spiewak and Huppe are tied for the team lead with 10 goals and Spiewak is second on the team with 16 assists and 26 points. In the current winning streak, Ed Courtenay has three goals and six points while defenseman Chris Allen has three goals and five points and Marty Clapton has three goals, including a game-winning goal. Courtenay leads the team with 19 assists and 29 points.


Lynx Line Scores 23 Points In 3 Games
Augusta's line of Louis Goulet, Jonathan Gagnon and Paul Vincent combined to score 23 points on nine goals and 14 assists in three games over three days. Vincent had three goals, including two game-winning goals, and scored eight points in the three games while Goulet led the trio with six assists and had eight points and Gagnon, who had a goal in all three games, had four goals and three assists for seven points. Since rejoining the team on December 30 against Gwinnett, Vincent has scored in each of his five games and has 10 points (3g-7a). Goulet leads the Lynx with 14 goals, 19 assists and 33 points in 32 games while Gagnon is tied for second on the team with eight goals and tied for fourth in scoring with 16 points (8g-8a).


Northern Division
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
 * Bullies lead the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.03 goals per game.
* Scott Stirling leads the ECHL with a 1.76 goals against average and is tied for the lead with 18 wins.
* Atlantic City travels to Dayton on Thursday, Roanoke on Friday and Greensboro on Saturday.

Cincinnati Cyclones
 * Ryan Brindley has a six-game home assist streak (7a) dating back to December 5.
* Cyclones' road penalty kill ranks fourth in the ECHL with 88.2 percent (67-for-76).
* Cincinnati travels to Johnstown on Friday before hosting Wheeling on Saturday.

Dayton Bombers
 * Bujar Amidovski made 35 saves to earn his first shutout of the season in a 3-0 win against Cincinnati on January 2.
* Jason Deskins leads the ECHL with four shorthand goals.
* Dayton hosts Atlantic City on Thursday before traveling to Trenton on Friday and Saturday.

Johnstown Chiefs
 * Corey Campbell is 7-6-2 and ranks third in the ECHL with a 2.20 goals against average.
* Chiefs' penalty kill leads the ECHL with 90.2 percent (138-for-153).
* Johnstown travels to Trenton on Wednesday before hosting Cincinnati on Friday and Reading on Saturday.

Peoria Rivermen
 * Randy Rowe has an eight-game point streak (9g-7a) and is tied for the ECHL lead with 22 goals.
* Levente Szuper is 6-0-0 in his last six starts after opening the season 0-3-1.
* Peoria travels to Las Vegas in Friday and Saturday.

Reading Royals
 * Cody Rudkowsky is tied for fourth in the ECHL with a 2.25 goals against average and is tied for second with three overtime wins.
* Royals' road power play leads the ECHL with 25.2 percent (28-for-111).
* Reading travels to Wheeling on Friday, Johnstown on Saturday and Wheeling on Sunday.

Toledo Storm
 * Morten Ask leads the team with 15 assists and 23 points.
* Storm is 7-2-1 when leading after the first period and 7-3-2 in one-goal games.
* Toledo travels to Columbia on Friday, Roanoke on Saturday and Florence on Sunday.

Trenton Titans
 * Mathieu Brunelle had his first career hat trick in a 6-1 win against Johnstown on December 30.
* Matt Zultek's goal at Reading on Sunday was his 100th career point as a Titan (54g-46a).
* Trenton hosts Johnstown on Wednesday and Dayton on Friday and Saturday.

Wheeling Nailers
 * Jason Jaffray has 14 points (7g-7a) in his last five games and is tied for second in the ECHL with 46 points (19g-27a).
* Nailers rank second in the ECHL in scoring with 3.76 goals per game.
* Wheeling hosts Reading on Friday and Sunday while traveling to Cincinnati on Saturday.

Southern Division
Charlotte Checkers
 * Dusty Jamieson has nine points (4g-5a) and is +3 in his last five games.
* Scott Meyer earned his first shutout of the season against Greensboro on December 30.
* Charlotte hosts Florida on Wednesday, travels to Greensboro on Thursday, hosts Augusta on Saturday and travels to Augusta on Sunday.

Columbia Inferno
 * Josh Blackburn earned his second shutout of the season in a 7-0 win at Texas on Sunday.
* Robin Carruthers has a four-game road goal streak (5g) dating back to December 31.
* Inferno hosts Roanoke on Thursday and Toledo on Friday before traveling to Pensacola on Saturday.

Florence Pride
 * Allan Sirois became the Pride's all-time leading scorer on Saturday with 344 points (143g-201a).
* Florence was 0-for-10 on the power play last week and is 1-for-30 in its last eight games.
* Florence hosts Florida on Friday, travels to South Carolina on Saturday, and hosts Toledo on Sunday.

Florida Everblades
 * Brian McCullough is tied for the ECHL lead with 22 goals and ranks fourth with 44 points.
* Everblades rank sixth in the ECHL in scoring with 3.50 goals per game.
* Florida travels to Greenville on Tuesday, Charlotte on Wednesday, Florence on Friday and Greenville on Saturday.

Greensboro Generals
 * Daniel Berthiaume leads the ECHL with four overtime wins and 1,658 minutes.
* Kurtis Drummond is tied for third among ECHL defensemen with 31 points (7g-24a).
* Greensboro hosts Augusta on Tuesday, Charlotte on Thursday and Atlantic City on Saturday.

Greenville Grrrowl
 * Bob Cunningham earned his first hat trick with Greenville in Saturday's 7-5 win at Greensboro.
* Chris Lynch has a nine-game road point streak (5g-8a) dating back to December 6.
* Greenville hosts Florida on Tuesday and Saturday while traveling to South Carolina on Friday.

Roanoke Express
 * Rick Kowalsky tallied his second hat trick of the season in Sunday's 4-3 win over Greensboro.
* Duncan Dalmao ranks third among ECHL defensemen with 16 power-play assists and 20 power-play points.
* Roanoke travels to Columbia on Thursday before hosting Atlantic City on Friday and Toledo on Saturday.

South Carolina Stingrays
 *Ed Courtenay has an eight-game point streak (3g-7a) dating back to December 16.
* Stingrays rank third in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.48 goals per game.
* South Carolina hosts Columbus on Tuesday, Greenville on Friday and Florence on Saturday.

Central Division
Augusta Lynx
 * Paul Vincent has a five-game assist streak (7a) dating back to December 30.
* Martin Lapointe is tied for second among ECHL defensemen with three game-winning goals.
* Augusta travels to Greensboro on Tuesday and Charlotte on Saturday before hosting Charlotte on Sunday.

Columbus Cottonmouths
 * Kristian Antila made 27 saves to earn his first ECHL shutout against Louisiana on January 2.
* Matus Kostur is 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals against average in his last three games.
* Columbus travels to South Carolina on Tuesday and to Gwinnett on Friday before hosting Gwinnett on Saturday and Mississippi on Sunday.

Gwinnett Gladiators
 * Kevin Doell is tied for the ECHL rookie lead with 22 assists and 35 points.
* Michael Garnett is tied for the ECHL lead with 18 wins and ranks third with a 2.18 goals against average.
* Gwinnett hosts Columbus on Friday and plays at Columbus on Saturday.

Louisiana IceGators
 * Ben Storey leads ECHL defensemen with seven power-play goals.
* IceGators' power play ranks second in the ECHL with 22.2 percent (40-for-180).
* Louisiana hosts Mississippi on Saturday and Pensacola on Sunday.

Mississippi Sea Wolves
 * Brent Gauvreau has 199 points (73g-126a) in 240 professional games.
* Sea Wolves rank third in the ECHL in scoring with 3.69 goals per game.
* Mississippi travels to Pensacola on Friday, Louisiana on Saturday and Columbus on Sunday.

Pensacola Ice Pilots
 * Ice Pilots are off to the best start in team history with an 18-9-5 record.
* Defenseman Corey Neilson is tied for the ECHL lead with 31 assists and leads the league with 24 power play points (4g-20a).
* Pensacola hosts Mississippi on Friday and Columbia on Saturday, and travels to Louisiana on Sunday.

Texas Wildcatters
 * Davis Parley made an ECHL season-high 63 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss at Pensacola on January 2.
* Wildcatters are winless in their last nine road games and 2-14-2 overall on the road.
* Texas travels to San Diego on Tuesday, Las Vegas on Wednesday, Long Beach on Friday and Saturday, and Bakersfield on Sunday.

Pacific Division
Alaska Aces
 * Joe Talbot (15g-20a) and Charles Linglet (14g-21a) are tied for the ECHL rookie lead with 35 points.
* Alaska ranks second in the ECHL in goals allowed with 2.47 goals per game.
* Aces host San Diego on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Bakersfield Condors
 * Andrew Ianiero has a five-game home assist streak (7a) dating back to December 7.
* Kevin Riehl has 24 points (10g-24a) in his last 25 games after not having a goal in his first eight games.
* Condors host Idaho on Saturday and Texas on Sunday.

Fresno Falcons
 * Greg Bullock leads the team with six power-play goals, 16 goals and 21 assists.
* Fresno is 8-1-0 when leading after the first period and 5-7-3 in one-goal games.
* Fresno travels to Las Vegas on Tuesday and hosts Idaho on Friday.

Idaho Steelheads
 * Dan Ellis earned his second professional shutout in Sunday's 4-0 win at Fresno.
* Zenon Konopka has 14 assists in his last 10 games.
* Idaho travels to Fresno on Friday, Bakersfield on Saturday and Long Beach on Sunday.

Las Vegas Wranglers
 * Chris Kenady has eight points (4g-4a) and is +4 in his last five games.
* Dave Cousineau is tied for second among ECHL defensemen with six power-play goals.
* Las Vegas hosts Fresno on Tuesday, Texas on Wednesday and Peoria on Friday and Saturday.

Long Beach Ice Dogs
 * Nick Ganga has three goals and four assists in his last five games.
* John McNabb leads the team with 14 goals and 28 points.
* Long Beach hosts Texas on Friday and Saturday and Idaho on Sunday.

San Diego Gulls
 * Gulls' penalty kill ranks third in the ECHL with 88.6 percent (140-for-158).
* Billy Tibbetts has an eight-game home point streak (5g-12a).
* San Diego hosts Texas on Tuesday before traveling to Alaska on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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ECHL Stories from January 5, 2004


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